Linked spring foam cushion construction



May 17, 1966 N. CALLA LINKED SPRING FOAM CUSHION CONSTRUCTION Filed April 21, 1965 United States Patent 3,251,078 LINKED SPRING FOAM CUSHIQN CONSTRUCTION Nick Calla, New York, NY. (1466 W. 5th St., Brooklyn, N .Y.) Filed Apr. 21, 1965, Ser. No. 449,749

1 Claim. (Cl. 5-353 This invention relates generally to the field of foam cushions, and more particularly to an improved springassisted type in which the spring elements are in coiled form, and positioned completely within the foam elements comprising the cushion.

In my prior patent, No. 3,145,020, granted Aug. 18, 1964, and entitled, Spring-Assisted Foam Cushion Construction, there is illustrated a cushion construction vin which a plurality of springs are disposed within a rectangularly shaped cushion, each of the springs being linked to adjacent springs by short resilient links. In constructions of this type, recesses are cut in the foam material to accommodate the springs and effectively position them.

While constructions of this type are not without extensive utility, difficulty is encountered in adapting this construction to cushions which are other than rectangular dimensions. For example, the curved-type cushions used in sectional type furniture at the corners thereof, and irregularly-shaped cushions used in period furniture, cannot accommodate constructions of this type owing to the fact that it is not possible to link all of the springs together to prevent shifting of the same, whereby lumpiness results insofar as the resilient action of the cushion is concerned.

It is therefore among the principal objects of the present invention to provide an improved form of springassisted cushion construction which may be readily adapted for use in cushions of other than rectangular configuration.

Another object of the invention lies in the provision of improved spring-assisted foam cushion construction in which a plurality of coiled springs are arranged in generally rectilinear troughs, each spring being individually wrapped and mechanically linked to an adjacent springto form a line of resilient action, the cushion including a plurality of such arrangements which may be of unequal length.

Yet another object of the invention lies in the provision of an improved cushion construction in which the cost of fabrication may be of a reasonably low order withconsequent wide sale, distribution and use.

Yet another object of the invention lies in the provision of improved spring-assisted foam cushion construction which may be manufactured using existing techniques known in the art, and without any resort to special machinery of any kind.

A feature of the invention lies in the use of direct tying of individual coil springs without the use of interconnecting links.

These objects and features, as well as other incidental ends and advantages, will more clearly appear in the progress of the following disclosure and be pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawing, to which reference will be made in the specification, similar reference characters have been employed to designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

FIGURE 1 is a view in perspective of an embodiment of the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a horizontal sectional view as seen from the plane 2-2 in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view as seen from the plane 3-3 in FIGURES 1 and 2.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary enlarged view in perspective showing the interconnection of the spring elements within the embodiment.

In accordance with the invention, the device, generally indicated by reference character 10, comprises broadly: a first or upper foam element 11, and a second or lower foam element 12, the elements 11 and 12 being generally similar and symmetrical. Positioned within the elements 11 and 12 are .a plurality of elongated spring elements 13.

The first or upper foam element 11 is illustrated in FIGURE 1 as being of generally rectilinear configuration, but it will of course be understood by those skilled in the art that the same may take any desired-planar configuration, such as circular, oblong, arcuate or the like. It is bounded by an upper surface 15, side surfaces .16, 17, 18 and 19, and a lower surface 20. Extending inwardly from the lower surface are a plurality of elongated recesses 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25, each recess including a bottom Wall 26, longer side walls 27 and shorter end walls 28. While the recesses 21-25 are illustrated in FIGURE 2 as being of equal length, it will be understood that the same may be of unequal length, as dictated by the outer configuration of the device 10, the only requirement being that the same are disposed such that their principal axes are parallel.

The second or lower foam element 12 will have a configuration corresponding to that of the upper foam element 11 and, as seen in FIGURES 1 and 3, the same includes a lower surface 30, side surfaces, two of which are indicated by reference characters 31 and 32, and upper surface $5, and a corresponding number of elongated recesses 36 (see FIGURE 3).

The elongated spring elements 13 are generally similar, each including a plurality of wire coil sections 40. Each coil section includes a lowermost convolution 411, a compressible helical section 42, and an upper convolution 43. Each coil section is encased within a cloth jacket 44 including planar panels 45 and cylindrical panels 46, to be maintained in surrounding relationship with respect to the coil section by stitch means 47 (see FIGURE 4).

Again referring to FIGURE 4, the individual coil sections are mechanically joined independently of the jacket 44 by suitable wire staples or other fastening means 50 21-25 in the upper foam element 11, and the corresponding recesses in the lower foam element 1 2. Following this, the peripheral areas, generally indicated by reference character 49, are glued together, as are the interconnecting surfaces 50 disposed between the recesses 2125. To effectively prevent any shifting of the spring elements 13, the planar panels 45, both top and bottom, are alsoglued to the corresponding portions of the bottom wall 26 of the recesses.

In the preferred embodiment, the jacket 44 is of a height such as to allow the spring element to reach maximum expansion when positioned within the glued elements 11 and 1.2. In this condition, although the height of the spring is relatively low, there is no opportunity for the same to twist with localized loads. It will be observed than Es each spring element is a unit unto itself, it may be shortened or elongated to conform to the outer configuration of the cushion without related modification of the other spring elements.

I wish it to be-understood that I do not consider the invention limited to the precise details of structure shown and set forth in this specification, for obvious modifications will occur to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains.

I claim:

In a spring-assisted foam cushion construction, a first foam element having upper and lower surfaces, there being a first plurality of elongated recesses extending from said lower surfaoe into the body of said first foam element each of said recesses having a principal axis parallel to the upper and lower surfaces of said foam elements; a corresponding second foam element having upper and lower surf-aces, there being a corresponding second plurality of recesses extending from said upper surface of said second foam element corresponding in location and length to said first plurality of recesses in said first foam element; and a plurality of spring elements, a plurality of each of said spring elements being disposed within a corresponding pair of elongated recesses in said first and second foam elements, each of said spring elements including a plurality of coil spring members having a principal axis perpendicular to the plane of said first and second foam elements, and being linked to an adjoining spring member at the uppermost and lowermost convolutions thereof by non- References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,359,003 9/1944 Sawyer 5353 3,064,280 11/1962 Nachman 5-353 3,090,154 5/1963 Harris.

3,145,020 9/1964 Calla 5- 361 FDREIGN PATENTS 1,331,547 5/1963 France. 1,040,211 10/ 1958 Germany.

407,207 3/ 1934 Great Britain.

CASMIR A. NUNBERG, Primary Examiner. 

